May 26, 2016
From the event website:
Founded in 1986 by Rick Doblin, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), is a research and educational non-profit organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana. For the past 30 years, MAPS has been at the cutting edge of research and advocacy contributing toward the legalization of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
This talk will discuss the history of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, the results of MAPS Phase 2 MDMA-assisted psychotherapy studies, the approaching End of Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA, the resources and planning needed for Phase 3 Clinical Trials, the current status of medical marijuana drug development research in the United States, and psychedelic harm reduction and psychedelic clinics as methods of preparing for a post-prohibition world.
RICK DOBLIN
Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients. His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences.
He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment. Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner.
His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife and one of three children (two in college).
For more information, visit the event website.